We see what we think is there.

"In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true." ~ John Lilly

Not long ago, I heard this conversation between two men on a reality TV program that followed Sasquatch hunters around in the woods at night:

#1: "Did you hear that?"

#2: "Yeah, I did."

#1: "That was a Sasquatch."

#2: "It sounded like a coyote to me."

#1: "Yeah, that's what they sound like. They sound like coyotes."

I'm convinced had the second hunter said, "It sounded like an owl, to me," the first would have responded, "Yeah, that's what they sound like. They sound like owls." We see (and, as in this case, hear) what we believe is there.

We may not be hearing Sasquatch, but the principle applies. We see what we believe is there. Most of us see a present through the lense of a past we believe is still there. Often fear generated from a past trauma paralyzes us in the present. This paralysis prevents us from extending ourselves into the present.

To my knowledge there's only one remedy for this malady --- systematically retraining the mind. Part of the process is letting go what we think happened in the past. In a word, it's called "forgiving." Forgive the past. Let it go. It's a chain that shackles us to something that no longer exists. When we drop the lenses causing us to see through the past, we can see freshly and what's actually there rather than the specters we believe are there.